There are many situations in which a user desires to indicate a location or series of locations on a displayed image, or to indicate a particular object in the displayed image. For example, a user may wish to temporarily direct the attention of an audience to a particular portion of an image as when using a pointer or laser pointer. At other times, a user may wish to annotate an image by selecting portions of the image, drawing on the image, or highlighting portions of the displayed text. Alternatively, the user may wish to control either the display device or another piece of equipment such as a satellite receiver, computer, or media player through an on screen display menu. Additionally, many computer games, especially first person shooter games, require the user to indicate certain areas of the displayed image in order to aim weapons or trigger various actions.
A variety of input devices have been developed to enable users to control equipment and displays. These devices include computer mice, pen tablets, inertial input devices such as gyroscopic mice, light pens or guns, optical remote controls, laser pointer and detectors, and other devices. While many of these devices work well in some situations and in certain environments, there is a long felt need for an improved input device that enables a user to accurately indicate a point or region of a display from a distance.